Naturita to Gateway, Colorado

Potholes in Saucer Basin were black with tadpoles.

Hieroglyphic Canyon

The hanging flume ran water for miles along the cliffs to a mine.

⦁ Naturita has a supermarket and a Family Dollar but I could get no Verizon service. The library has wifi 24/7. Gateway has gas. A free campground is along highway 141 at mp 74.2.  Posted 2022.

⦁ W19 Road leaves highway 141 at mp 73.5. It goes 6 and a half miles to a T at the Dusty Mine. Either way goes to EE22 Road running on top of the mesa which connects highway 141 to highway 145. All this had just been graded but still not good for cars. Posted 2022.

⦁ PARK BENCHMARK el 6953 - EE22 Road leaves highway 141 at Uravan which is at mp 75.4. It runs over the mesa and on to highway 90. It was just graded but still not good for cars. Park BM and Bitter BM are along the way along with countless mines. Posted 2022.

⦁ SAUCER BASIN is west of Uravan. Loop hikes can be done in unspoiled portions. Only one road goes in and it's washed out. Take highway 141 to Uravan at mp 75.4 and go west on EE22 Rd for 4 and a half miles to road W16 el 6104. Take that and keep left at forks for .7 mile to a faint road el 5937. It goes a quarter mile to a drainage then it's a goner. I walked down it then took the fork west of point 5770. That ends then I went up a steep slope at N38 19918, W108 4925 el 6400 then on up to the rim at peak 6802. I walked the rim then descended the ridge just before peak 6700 reading 20366, 50182 el 6650. At 20552, 49972 I went left down an easy pathway on a steep slope. I stayed on the high ground to 21111, 49231 el 5950 where I dropped down into a main canyon. Deep potholes there had murky water and a million tadpoles. I went up the other side then along the west side of peak 6214 and on down along the east side of point 5514 and up on to a gooseneck of the Dolores River. I retraced back and took the road along the east side of peak 6214. At a fork el 5840 I could look up and see a class 3 gully to the top of that peak. I walked the road back and in half a mile the road crosses a slickrock drainage with a pothole full of clear water. Fortunate as I ran dry earlier. That took 8 hours, 9 minutes with about 2000 gain but nearly all easy. Nice pj forest and slickrock. Posted 2022.

⦁ HIEROGLYPHIC CANYON as one or two minor falls in the middle that block travel. The lower end is the best hike. Take highway 141 to Uravan at mp 75.4 and go west on EE22 Rd for a half mile and look for a faint old track going level into the canyon. It goes to the top of a fall and it's easy to stroll on up to the falls blocking the way at el 5600. It took 90 minutes but I wanted more of a hike than that. I retraced back to el 5540 and could see a route up to the east rim. I topped out at N38 20393, W108 45798 el 5800. Then I went to the next level at 20340, 45762 el 5950. I leveled off there and headed for the washed out road on the topo and followed it around a point and to graded road W19 at el 5750. I walked that to a fork west of USLM 20468 and went left along a canyon then dropped in and forgot to mark it. It's just a few feet before a side drainage at 21088, 43297 and that's the last entry point. The canyon hits the highway at mp 74 and I was camped at the campground at mp 74.2. That took 5 hours, 23 minutes with only 400 noticeable gain. Reversing this using a shuttle makes it even easier. W19 leaves the highway at mp 73.5. Drive in about 3 miles and start hiking around the point to Hieroglyphic. Posted 2022.

⦁ U18 ROAD leaves highway 141 at mp 76.1. It goes 10 miles to the Spring Creek Ranch then thru that to pavement near Nucla. At a T, I went left then right on CC Road to highway 141 then back to the start. It's a 42 mile loop, 22 of it is good dirt. Great for two wheelers when dry. Posted 2022.

⦁ ATKINSON CREEK has a good road. Turn off highway 141 at mp 77.5 and go up the canyon. Stay left on the main road and it will run above the river past the Club Sandwich Mine then come back down at Mesa Creek but it's 4wd by that time. It's 10 miles of dirt roads. Posted 2022.

⦁ JOHN CHRISTION GRAVE - turn off highway 141 at mp 82.2 and it soon turns into a jeep road that goes down to the grave. Rock house ruins are nearby. An ATV trail goes lower to an active claim. Across the river is a side canyon where a hiker trail goes up to the top of a fall. It looks like canyoneers are rappelling down thru a hole in the rock. But the river has to be waded to get there. Posted 2022.

⦁ CARPENTER RIDGE is a sub level of Martin Mesa. It's one of the rare areas around that bulldozers couldn't get at. A loop can be made by walking the road to the top of the mesa then down to it and out on a cowboy trail. Take highway 141 to mp 84 and turn on a high clearance road. Stay left at main forks for 2.7 miles to a fork el 5200. Right is 4wd for 5 miles to near the summit but a bad spot at el 6800 will stop most. It's a short walk from there to the summit. Left is R13 and it goes 1.8 miles on high clearance to a fork el 5500. Ebikes can make it. Left goes to the cowboy trail. For the loop, I walked the right fork up to N38 22497, W108 50560 el 6300 where I went straight up to shortcut a gooseneck in the road. I kept going to a dip in the road at el 6800. If skipping the summit, walk level to the rim at 21955, 51310 el 6800. For the summit, walk on up to el 6880 and take a faint track to the rim and up to the summit. Then walk the rim down to that point el 6800. A gully below seemed like a long shot but it is class 2 with one class 3 chockstone. Then it's just a matter of walking that level on down to a gooseneck of the Dolores River where the cowboy trail appears. It's a bit over a half mile to walk out to point 5514 on the gooseneck. The trail wraps around point 5776 and on to the start at el 5500. It took 6 and a half hours with 1500 gain to the summit and some minor gain on the cowboy trail. Easy terrain. On the drive out, there is a huge sandstone dome on the left near the highway. It has moqui steps up the SW side. Posted 2022.

⦁ P12 ROAD leaves highway 141 at mp 86. I stayed left at main forks and it took me along the North Fork of Mesa Creek and over into Blue Creek. I stayed right at the first main fork there on the creek and it took me up along the east side of Outlaw Mesa then I followed signs to Gateway. I hit highway 141 at mp 115.2 which 4 miles north of town at Castro Draw. It's a good high clearance road with some rain damage. It's so steep dropping into Castro that 4wd will be needed. 35 miles of dirt road. Both creeks had a clear stream. Posted 2022.

⦁ ROC CREEK has access across private land. The road in leaves highway 141 at mp 88.5 and goes nearly 3 miles along a murky stream to a private gate and the end of travel. I checked the big cave and found nothing. Posted 2022.

⦁ NO NAME SPRING comes out of a sealed cistern at mp 91.5. I tanked up there. Posted 2022.

⦁ SEWEMUP MESA el 7500 is the biggest chunk of real estate for miles and miles that bulldozers can't get at. The SE ridge is a cake walk in an easy pj forest. At mp 92.2 on the highway there is an obvious class 2 route up. It reads N38 28179, W108 52152 el 4800 and is marked with cairns that peter out before peak 5533. It's easy to walk either side of that peak. At el 5700 is a cluster of ponerosa pines and more are above 7000. A shallow saddle is crossed at 27500, 55295 el 6700 then the reg is at 28352, 56747. 7 hours, 11 minutes with 2800 gain. The easiest 2800 in the universe. No burn areas. Some tiny cacti stick to boots for the last half. Posted 2022.

⦁ Z6 ROADleaves highway 141 at mp 101.4 and goes up Salt Creek. It's maintained for the first 7 miles then easy 4wd for 2 miles where I stopped at el 6000 along Salt Creek. It didn't look hard to go up Sewemup Mesa. Bikes work on this road. Posted 2022.

⦁ JOHN BROWN ROAD leaves highway 141 at Gateway and is signed. It's maintained and goes steep up into ponderosa pines and on to the La Sal Mountains. Posted 2022.

⦁ 4.1 ROAD is high clearance and goes down the west bank of the river from Gateway. It goes past abandoned homesteads and ends in 13 miles at Cottonwood Canyon which was dry and sunny. Cottonwoods are along the road to camp under. Beaver Creek has the best camping and a clear stream. Mtn bikers ride this. Posted 2022. 

⦁ GATEWAY has a store with gas at mp 111.3. Posted 2022.

⦁ PARADOX VALLEY PETROGLYPHS - I visited 4 public sites along highway 90. For a minor one, turn off at mp 28.9 and go .8 mile on high clearance ( and mtn bikeable) to a fork. Go left then walk a short way to it at N38 12571, W108 39249. For the Shaman Panel, the best of them all, turn off at mp 24.7 and drive high clearance to a washout. Bikes and OHVs can cross then look for a fenced boulder at the mountain base. For the Shaman Panel, take the road along the base going east past the boulder. It ends at a canyon in less than half a mile. Several panels are a short way in, and the Shaman is first on the left. You must pass under a boulder walking on logs. Reading here is 15733, 42453. It's 2 miles if walking from the highway. A bike would help a lot. There is another minor site on the north bank of the Dolores up from Bedrock with a good trail . At the store in Bedrock, turn at the sign for the boat ramp. In a mile or so is a free campground with covered tables. The crude roads far right go to the TH in a fifth mile. Then it took me 65 minutes to walk to the site at 16823, 55408, just 10 feet off the trail and signed. The trail goes on up La Sal Creek. Next time I'll try walking down La Sal Creek from the highway and out to Bedrock. This was a pioneer route. Bikes not allowed. Posted 2022.